SYLVIA ROBERTS Communication Librarian sroberts@sfu.ca CMNS 260 (Fall 2017) SYLVIA ROBERTS Communication Librarian sroberts@sfu.ca

Assignment 1 Use the SFU library resources to find four articles published in scholarly journals that are related to your topic using one of the article databases. The articles should involve empirical research, not just theory Now do a search on Google Scholar on your topic and look at the results. Which, if any, might be appropriate for you to study given the information in the search results? Make a list of the citations of the four publications you selected Read the articles and write a short annotation for each Prepare a written report on your search

Overview Why do a literature review? Recognizing empirical research articles Finding articles on your topic – effectively & efficiently Additional support

If I can see further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants (Isaac Newton, 1676)

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH PROCESS Academic literature is important at both the beginning and the end of the empirical research life cycle

Benefits of literature review Saves time! Peer-review process acts as quality control Situates your research topic in the field Protocol of citing influential studies helps find related research Shows how other researchers have framed their questions Provides models of effective research methodology

Anatomy of an empirical journal article Take 3 minutes: Draw a picture of journal article reporting on empirical research Note any special identifying features Take 2 minutes (each) Talk to a partner about these features. Try to find some common ground about features of empirical research articles. Each group of 2 will report 1 key feature to the class.

Identifying features: “Journal” often in publication title Lengthy (10+ pages) Authors affiliation Abstract Introduction / literature review positions research Documentation (in-text citations and reference list / bibliography)

Identifying features: Formal language, well-organized with section headings Research questions stated Methodology section

Identifying features: Discussion of results Illustrations are somber looking, used to provide meaning (tables, charts) Conclude with implications of findings and suggestions for further research

Disciplinary databases: Sociological Abstracts Communication and Mass Media Complete

Your research topic “…general research topic — attitudes and practices related to the ethics and to etiquette in social media use in communication. Within this general area you need to narrow the topic and conduct bibliographic research about scholarship related to your topic, develop specific research questions, design a research proposal that outlines how you might collect and analyse data related to this topic.”

SAMPLE Topic: How do adults experience friendship in Facebook, compared to friends made in real life? Key concepts: Friends Facebook Related terminology: friendship or relationships social media

Search and evaluate DEMONSTRATION Search Sociological Abstracts, using your search terms Review results list If necessary, modify search (search terms, limit to scholarly) Click on promising title to get detailed record with abstract Assess whether empirical article Email/download & capture promising citations for bibliography

Improving your results Capitalize on useful articles Use same subject terms for searching Review “cited references” or “cited by” to find related articles Find these texts by searching for “title” on library homepage Try a different database in consultation with librarian Do a broader search and use subject headings to scope results; modify your research question according to your results

Reflective research practice: Database: Sociological Abstracts Search #1: Friendship or friends and facebook or “social media” Results: 138 scholarly articles Many empirical articles Focus on young people as subjects Additional search terms: “friendship practices” “sense-making” “intimate friends” “close friends” “attitudes” Reflective research practice: Using the worksheet to document searches

Assignment support after this class Ask a Librarian (research help) Citation style guides Undergraduate Writing and Learning (Student Learning Commons)